Consumables
Invercote – like never before
Friday 12. September 2008 - This autumn Invercote will change character. From being a typically pale Scandinavian understatement it will be transformed into a symphony of colours. Where blank space was previously used to highlight Invercotes whiteness, a multitude of colours now prevails. There is a more provocative choice of images and the overall design style is more reminiscent of the big consumer brand owners than of Invercotes competitors in the paperboard industry.
“Its those same brand owners that both we and our direct customers – printers and converters – want to reach,” explains Carlo Einarsson, head of market communications for Iggesund Paperboard. “We have to adapt our approach to make our voice heard.”
Invercote has been on the market for over forty years. Its launch was a daring move – a courageous board of management chose to make a product that was unknown in Europe and was not in demand, and they made it using new technology. Now the company is launching a new Invercote after a thorough upgrading of the mill where it is made, Iggesunds Bruk. The result is a long list of improvements to printability and mechanical properties. The development process has focused on Invercotes quality consistency that has traditionally given customers reliability and economy of production.
“The work to add new dimensions to Invercotes identity has also been very important,” Einarsson says. “Weve developed a new logo to clearly distinguish Invercote from our other paperboard, Incada. Above all, we felt a real need to change our approach and become a bit more provocative.” He adds, though, that Invercote will never deviate from its core values of style, elegance and class.
“Within that framework there was still a lot to do. When I look at the communication materials that are on the point of being rolled out, I believe we can safely say that weve taken a number of measures to distinguish Invercotes communication materials from those of its competitors.”
At the same time as the new identity was being created, a new website has also been developed. It has a series of new functions that will make it easier for visitors to gain an impression of what Invercote can achieve, but also to get lots of information about how to get the maximum performance out of Invercote as a material.
“Its part of our companys tradition to convey knowledge about how paperboard can be used in the best way,” Einarsson says. “Our informational material, called the Iggesund Anchor, consists of several books and brochures about paperboard and will be printed in a revised format during the autumn.”
A recent independent survey confirmed that Iggesund owns the two strongest brands on the European paperboard market – Invercote and Incada. This conclusion has inspired some of the changes made to the communication materials.
“Weve made a clearer distinction between Invercote and Incada. Theyre two different kinds of paperboard, which are at the top of their respective niches but are good for different purposes. The distinctions weve now made will make it easier for Incada to assert itself more as an independent product.”
Traditionally, printers and converters have demanded more technical information compared with the more emotional approach to communications used in the consumer market. But Einarsson is not worried that traditional direct customers will feel abandoned:
“No, quite the opposite. I think theyll feel that were helping them to attract the attention of brand owners and designers. And theyll still be able to rely on getting knowledge support and technical service from Iggesund just as easily and quickly as ever.”